main-navigation

Bioware is Refocusing, Doubling Down on "Storytelling," Casey Hudson Explains

Just over a year after Mass Effect: Andromeda's release, Bioware's General Manager Casey Hudson stressed that "storytelling" will continue to be Bioware's main focus as it continues developing new games.

The news comes from a studio update shared by Hudson earlier today, as part of the first blog post in a series of updates geared around Bioware's future. Hudson, who returned to Bioware last summer shortly after Andromeda's release, said it was "frustrating" that the studio wasn't able to give players story DLC for the Mass Effect title. This led to a "defining moment in refocusing Bioware's mission," instead making sure the developer focused primarily on refining its games' stories in the future.

"We need to delight players with new experiences and innovation, but we must stay focused on the importance of the world, character, and storytelling elements that players expect from our games," Hudson wrote in the post. "And our games must be designed to continue delivering new stories and experiences, in an ongoing relationship with players in the worlds we’re evolving together."

Hudson also stressed that Anthem, the studio's upcoming massively multiplayer shooter, will be designed "to create a whole new world of story and characters" that players can expect with friends through "an ongoing series of adventures."

"It will be unlike anything you've ever played, but if we do it right, it will feel very distinctively Bioware," he concluded.

Anthem is expected for early 2019, after the game was delayed from its fall 2018 release window. The game will play a major role in Bioware's future, in part because fans are eager for a rebound after Mass Effect: Andromeda was slammed for its glaring bugs and lackluster plot. A report from Kotaku has since hinted that the game suffered significant problems in development, leading to its troubled release.